Author: kezha1

Throughout his letter to the Romans, Paul argues against the idea of getting “Fire Insurance”. What do I mean? It’s accepting Jesus into your life but refusing to actually conform to the moral Will of God. It’s trying to pull one over on the Lord…of having your cake and eating it too. It’s banking on God’s loving kindness and gracious disposition towards us that He’ll continue to forgive, and forgive, and forgive…regardless of what wickedness we do. But begging forgiveness after the fact, (particularly only when/if we get caught) rather than changing our ways in the first place is what ” becoming a new creation” is all about . (II Corinthians 5:17)

Bad things do happen to good people everyday. That doesn’t mean though God’s sovereignty and innate goodness towards His children is somehow lessened. We must remember that we live in a very broken world, full of very broken people, who behave in very broken ways. But to the defense of Job’s wife here, she too had experienced with Job the death of all her children and loss of everything they owned…but now seeing her husband, in serious physical condition, her faith faltered…probably fearing she would be left a penniless, childless widow. She also may have always relied on her husband’s faith rather than her own in times of trouble, and now seeing him in such mental and physical pain it shook her to the core. So when Job called her foolish, he was talking about her failure to keep the faith, and to keep her perspective of God.

Zacchaeus was a loathed outcast of the Jewish community in his home town of Jericho after he had sold out to became a Tax Collector for the hated Romans. He had heard that this Jesus person was passing through and wanted to catch a glimpse of Him…so he climbed up into a Sycamore-fig tree for a hidden vantage point. But Jesus had other ideas. As He approached the tree Jesus stopped, looked up into the branches and called Zacchaeus by name to come down…and then Jesus shocked the gathered crowd by inviting Himself to his house. Jesus was looking past the sin to see the soul…He was searching the heart and mind of Zacchaeus rather than looking at just the superficial. That’s because Jesus knew the inner man of Zacchaeus and loved him just as he was. And this unconditional love dramatically changed Zacchaeus.

It would of been so much easier if with that first little bundle of joy an Owner’s Manuel came along to give instructions on being perfect parents…but it didn’t. So we do the very best we can…sometimes with good results, sometimes not so much. Many times we fall back on how we were brought up. A few days ago I was speaking to my youngest son about me being raised in a very stoic and undemonstrative family that were taught not to show emotion, to suck it up and move on. There was a moment of silence and then he said, “That’s where I got that!” Parenting is not an exact science and we all fail our kids many times…with some unable to parent at all due to their upbringing. But no matter how well or how badly you felt your parents raised you…remember, the Lord is always there for you…and He will never leave nor forsake you.

Paul’s drastic conversion took him from persecutor to Pastor. His divine appointment with the Lord changed him from a zealous destroyer of the early Church to passionately declaring the Gospel Message. You may think someone you’ve been praying for will never come to Christ…that they’re too evil and wicked to ever change…but that’s not God’s desire. For even Paul was changed from someone who formerly harassed Christians to heralding the Good News to the Gentiles. Just remember this, nothing is too difficult for the Lord.

The snare is a rather rudimentary and primitive hunting technique. It involves setting a camouflaged trap of a noose to catch unsuspecting birds or mammals. They are lured to the area and then seized by the noose which kills them. For us humans, sin is our snare. Sin is ever there enticing us, disguised as something harmless…and yet if we yield to it… we’re caught in the same snare. But if are eyes are continually on the Lord and not the allurements of the world we’ll be less likely to succumb to the snare of sin. So as Hebrews 12:2 exhorts, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”

We can all look forward to an ultimate fate, and a eternal final destiny. The question is, which one will you choose? For the final decision is up to you where you will spend eternity. You can either shun the redemptive Story of the Cross, live for today, and allow pride to rule in your life…or set your mind on things above, forsaking earthly things and your sinful nature, and be clothed in Christ. The choice is yours.

God has always used wars, famines and plagues to draw His people back. And here Habakkuk surveys the devastation of the marauding Babylonian army in Judah. Both Jeremiah and Joel write of similar situations during their lifetimes. Joel spoke out against the Kingdom of Judah when locust had decimated the country…telling them that God controlled their economy not them, and that they had forgotten that their prosperity came from Him and no one else. (Joel 1:10-18) Likewise, Jeremiah also spoke out against Judah warning of foreign raiders invading and devouring crops, flocks, herds, vines, and fig trees if they did not turn back to God. (Jeremiah 5:17) All three prophets warned the people of things to come if they did not turn from their wicked ways and repent…and all three mourned at what they saw around them. But yet all three drew their eyes upward to God their Savior, taking solace in His mercy and grace.

It tells us in the first Chapter of Job that he was a patient, upright man whose trust in God couldn’t be shaken even when tremendous loss and physical suffering came into his life. The balance of the rest of this Book demonstrates how despite all these difficult trials, Job determined in his mind to hold on to his faith…though he really didn’t understand why this was happening to him. For us, it can help explain how God, in His benevolence and wisdom, allows all – both Believer and unbeliever to suffer. First, it exposes our frailties and shows us just how dependent we really are on Him…and secondly, it allows us to strengthen our devotion as we are forced to walk by faith and not by sight. Finally, like Job, it shows us if we persevere without growing weary, we will be blessed in the end.

The early Church was growing, but it was still just Jesus’ Disciples that were attempting to do everything. Yet it wasn’t until some complained that many widows were being overlooked in the daily food distribution, that they called a meeting and started delegating. The Disciples realized that they were trying to be all things to all people…and it wasn’t working! They also realized their role and purpose wasn’t wrapped up in the actual delivery of food but rather in the delegation and administration of the Compassionate Care Ministry for the needy within their Christian Community. Each of us has a role and purpose within our Church Body…for each one of us has gifts and talents, expertise and know-how that God can use.